The object of invention is to provide an animal cage litter composition, especially suitable for cats, to be used as bedding for small household furry animals' cages and as litter-box filler.
Currently known litter composition types used for breeding of small domestic or household furry animals, especially cats, are in the form of bentonite pet litters, silicon pellets or wood and plant based sawdust or briquettes.
For example, there are litter compositions for small pets, especially cats, disclosed in the patent description no. PL-188343 that comprise from 90% to 99% (w/w) of clay material, as the basic component, and from 10% to 1% (w/w) of wood dust or shavings, as filling material. Kaolinite, illite, montmorillonite, beidellite or their mixtures are used as the clay material. The litter composition is in the form of pellets.
Similar types of bentonite-based litters containing sodium bentonite, carbonate, silica-carbonate and silica rocks, volcanogenic rocks and synthetic minerals from the group of cellular concretes and microporous concretes subject to grinding, drying and/or roasting, Collodion cotton made from bentonite or silts and clay are presented in other patents, e.g. Chinese patents no. CN-10274251, CN-202406737, U.S. Pat. No. 6,860,234, European patent no. EP-2213162, Polish patent application no. P.365889 and patent publication no. P.391115, where clumping material comprises 80-95% of organic material, 5-20% of gelling composition enriched with 0-1% of aromatic mixture. The gelling composition comprises mineral compounds and natural organic substances, while the gelling agent comprises bentonite and guar gum or xanthan gum or Arabic gum, in proportion by weight 1:1 or 3:2. Bentonite in the litter composition mass amounts to 20-70% of the gelling composition, preferably to 40-60%, and organic substances amount to 30-80% of the gelling composition, preferably to 40-60%. The bentonite material used is in a micronized form, preferably, of granulation below 6 μm. Very fine wood sawdust is used as natural organic material.
In the publication of the patent application no. P.307317, the pet litter composition comprises clay mineral amounting from 90% to 99% (w/w) and wood dust or sawdust, from 10% to 1% (w/w), preferably with addition of aromatic substances, and in the publication of the invention no. P.365889, the animal litter composition comprises a mixture of an absorbent material such as clay and silica gel.
Also disclosed in American patent description no. US-212118242 is the litter for cats in the form of pellets shifting into the form of gelling colloid with its main component being superabsorbent polymers (SAP) of super absorbing properties completed with a binding agent.
Litter compositions based on plant waste and biomass are another group of animal cage litter compositions, including litter-box compositions to cover cat fecal waste. For example, the publication of the patent no. P.308952 concerning loose bedding for small livestock and cats that comprises environmentally harmless and easily decaying organic substance in the form of leached, compressed and then dried sugar beet pomace discloses an example of such litter compositions. Such pomace is the by-product from processing sugar from sugar beet. Sugar beet pomace is subject to pelletization to improve its sorptive capacity.
Whereas the object of invention applied for patent under no. P.307152 is an ecological litter composition for domestically bred rodents that comprises fine ground peat of relative humidity from 85 to 12%, acidity pH 4.0 and decomposition value from 28% to 32%, or high-moor peat of above-mentioned properties with addition of charcoal and calamus.
The next examples of litter compositions for small domestic animals' cages and/or litter boxes based on environmentally friendly waste are disclosed in the following patents: U.S. Pat. No. 7,089,882, Chinese patent no. CN-102150627 and PCT no. WO-2008116453, where the basic plant component is corn and/or corn cobs with addition of cereal grains. Corn cobs, beside a filler, can also contain plant resin that acts as a binding agent.
Whereas the object of the German patent no. DE-19543311 is a litter composition for cats in the form of briquettes that comprises wood with addition of a filler that acts at the same time as urine thickener. The thickener is guar flour that forms gel after contact with animal urine, which facilitates binding wood briquettes.
In case of the PCT no. WO-2013004879, an ecological litter composition for animals has been obtained from forest biomass and sea algae.